Happy Epiphany

Happy Epiphany, or 12th Day of Christmas, or Day of the Kings or …. Well, around the world, this day is celebrated in a myriad of ways (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(holiday). In fact, in the United States, we hardly pay any attention to it at all. We’ve been bombarded with Christmas since Halloween (All Hallows Eve), and New Year’s Day was a nice way to end the holidays. Now, we are ready to move on.

For many of us, today is the first day back at work, so our major focus is digging through email and trying to remember where we were on projects before we took time away from the office. I won’t even ask how many of your New Year’s resolutions already have been broken. The good news is today is a holy day if not a holiday, so you have a bit of grace. Because Christmas doesn’t officially end until midnight on this Twelfth Night, you can start again tomorrow.

That might be the best New Year’s resolution any of us can make: At the end of each day, tie a knot in it and resolve to move forward tomorrow. If we can make a little bit of progress every day we might find ourselves radically different people by the time we reach the end of 2014.

The key to such transformation is to deliberately and consciously make space in your life for epiphanies. You know those ah-ha moments of insight that have the power to make a difference and make you different? These must be specific epiphanies when we recognize the progress we are making and acknowledge the work we yet need to do.

I’ve decided that saints are women and men who can take any moment of conflict or challenge and ruthlessly examine what they might have done differently. Oh, go ahead; spend a minute or two blaming the other person or the situation. Get it out of your system. Then remember that is all you are doing, because, in the end, the only thing you can change is you. So what epiphany about yourself might life be offering you? If you can have one of those each day, 2014 might be a very good year.

By Michael Piazza Co-Executive Director The Center for Progressive Renewal